Gun Dog Forum

shags

Welcome!

Sounds like your new dog has landed in the place he needed.

Good luck with him. Hope you both get home soon

shags

I also overlay the cc with the ecollar. Command, quick tug, nick, reel him in with praise. One command only, you don't want the dog to learn that you only mean business after several commands. In the field, command, and nick if he ignores. Use the lowest setting that gets a reaction. My dogs get #1 ...

shags

I don't know where's the better place to put this, here or on the clinical trials thread, but here goes. Some vet schools are researching a canine anti-cancer vaccine, which if successful in dogs might go on to develop one for humans. It's called VACCS. They're using it for cancers other than osteos...

shags

It's important to have clear communication with your veterinary professionals about treatments, costs, and probable outcomes. For example, recently my daughter's little dog was diagnosed with lymphoma. She was referred ro a veterinary oncologist who explained the treatment in detail. Bottom line, no...

shags

No insurance here either. We've had between 3 and 5 dogs at any one time and the premiums would have been way to expensive. Back in the day when our budget was tighter, we squirreled away a small emergency fund and also left room on a credit card to cover unexpected vet expenses. Now that we have mo...

shags

I'd probably ("probably" because things might need to be changed up depending on circumstances) start him like I would a little baby puppy. Plant some birds in light cover so he can't see them and checkcord him in crosswise to the wind. Use the cc to control his pace so he doesn't outrun his nose, a...

shags

Probably the same everywhere. As of now, it's okay to have them in my state if we follow all the governor's mandates. On state grounds there might not be any facilities open. On private grounds there's the problem of who is going to sanitize facilities after each use or at least several times a day....

shags

Is it hot by you? How old is the dog? Older males hang lower IME, and the scrotum loosens in the heat. Do his testicles snug up after a cool/cold swim or hosing? I think the thing to watch out for is whether the testicles are of his 'normal' size and denseness, one or both not enlarged or unusually ...

shags

Horrifying!

(Well done, Buddy)

shags

Claude, I'm glad that you're feeling better. I hope you know that six months is puppy h3ll...for its people :D The suggestion to use a stake out or chain gang is a good one. It worked wonders for one of my boneheads. But there are some safeguards you should be aware of. Don't make the chain on the s...

shags

Will it nag at you forever if you don't try it? Your best bet might to try it for a bag or two. No telling in advance how a particular dog will do on a particular food. That being said, I started with PPP, switched to something "better" and again to something "just as good but cheaper" and here I am...

shags

I think it has a lot to do with how the dog is put together, the shape of the foot, and how it moves. I used to hang with someone who is a pro show-dog handler. They like those nails short. Her dogs nails got dremeled at least once a week whether they needed it or not. You can clip the nails first, ...

shags

A couple of suggestions, A tired dog is a good dog. Find a way to wear out that pup almost every day. Can you free run him for about 30 minutes? Does anyone in the family run and is able to take the dog along? How about biking...can someone run the dog along side? Remember that oftentimes our dogs p...

shags

Kind of a PSA. Are you aware that veterinary colleges offer inclusion of our pets in clinical trials? If you're not unreasonably far from a vet school, it might be worthwhile to check out any trials upcoming or ongoing. Often they offer free treatment for a variety of conditions and diseases and fir...

shags

Pink rules!

shags

1 Not big deal. In fact, if my dog were more interested in cookies than hunting, I'd be disappointed. 2 Give only one command and enforce it. Two commands leads to three, leads to four, etc. Give the cc a good snap or jerk to get the dog moving. 3 Not too young for ecollar work on recall. How old is...

shags

Congrats on the new family member

Sounds like your new guy landed in a good place.

shags

Well that was fun! Thanks for posting it.

shags

IME a major cause of gas and/or diarrhea in an otherwise healthy dog is too much food. Cutting back a little each meal, and feeding two small meals if they need the calories, can clear it right up. Sometimes it helps to skip a day of feeding to give the gut a chance ro settle down, then proceed with...

shags

The big national brands like Purina have nutritionists on the payroll, and I'm pretty sure the small boutique brands don't. Purina for example keeps "research" dogs who can be tested for various health concerns related to feed. If I were to switch to a smaller or local brand, I'd find out who mills ...

shags

There was some noise last year about grain free kibbles having ingredients like potatoes, peas, and legumes which inhibit the uptake of taurine. Taurine deficiency was linked to cardiac problems specifically heart failure. There have been some decent studies done so you might want to look them up an...

shags

I've only ever done play retrieving with my dogs, so can't help training-wise. But there are some materials my dogs don't want anything to do with...like that smelly rubber or some slick plastics.

shags

Sharon wrote: ↑
Mon Jun 22, 2020 3:30 pm
Ah , you're right! Sorry. Of course there are no spaniels in the pointing dog trials.

(That dog looks mad.)

Cuz Robert emptied that bottle, I betcha.

shags

Any tips for how to teach your dog to turn or "handle" in the field? Thanks Can't say for sure !! ? But if the dawg ain't looking at you ,then you can't teach it to be handled in any field . ..Little ways along you can dance or sing ,or holler all you want in any language. guess those catskills and...

shags

I use the command in the field when I'm sure the dog knows what is expected. If he ignores me, I use the e collar . Whilst your Singing may be of virtue, if the dog knows what is expected , then why would it ignore you ? , I was just watching a great film ' A few Good Men ' ..and just thought of a ...

shags

I'd use the Rufflands because of the extra ventilation but probably either would be fine with the common sense precautions you mentioned. We travel with our dogs in airline crates under a topper with windows open and they haven't seemed distressed. We never leave the truck unattended with the dogs i...

shags

It sounds like you're doing pretty well with your pup. Four months old is young yet, keep working on your commands and he'll eventually get it. IME some pups want to be more dominant than others, and take more convincing to stop that biting and nipping. For my pups with that mindset, I get rougher w...

shags

Check the label on the chewables to see if they really need to be chewed or not. If so, I'd crush the chewables and mix with a spoonful of some kind of stinky wet dog food or cat food. Give your dog the meds' 'camo' without anything hidden in it every day for a while. When one of my dogs needs medic...

shags

IME dogs have to learn which birds to point and which to ignore. And unless they can read Peterson's A Guide to North American Birds they need ro be taught. I live in The Land of Very Few Wild Birds, but run my dogs in released/planted bird trials. On occasion, my dogs have come across the rare phez...

shags

Shadow Oak Bo was bred a bit at $1250 per. I've seen puppies by him go for $1500-2000 where 'regular' pups are/were $300-$600. Think how many pedigrees Tekoa Mountain Sunrise is in, so he was used a lot. Even pointer winners can command quite a bit 8) If a stud or dam is able pass on all the good st...

shags

^^^^ Stud fees and puppies. And IIRC there were some decent purses for some championships ; don't know about futurities and things like Purina awards.

shags

$40,000 and that was around twenty years ago. No hunt test ribbons that I know of, but a photo on the steps of The Big House

shags

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure Pepper was a great little companion. It's amazingly painful to lose the ones whose only jobs were to take up space on our beds, share our pizza crust, and find a way to make us smile every day.

Peace from our house to yours.

shags

A heads up for chewey customers...did you know they just donated 2 million dollars to HSUS? That's an animal rights organization that pays CEO Wayne Pacelle over $320,000 a year to attempt to limit or eliminate hunting. Most of HSUS income goes to 'overhead' and not to shelters.

shags

There are some pretty good short stories and books also, that aren't necessarily about training. Check eBay, Alibris, abebooks, and Amazon. Lots have been reprinted but there are still old copies to be found. Pretty Boy, My Dog Lemon, Raff, are older examples. Jenny Willow and Zip Zap are contempora...

shags

Yep, but haven't read it in a long time. It covers a lot topics all done old school of course (1927). It's definitely worth a read. He ran an Irish Setter called Smada Bird and wrote another book by that name. I can't remember which book it was that gave me a tip for how to fix an issue I had with o...

shags

Some dogs chatter out of excitement or anticipation, like when they know they're going on a run or you're about to put down the food bowl. Chattering is really common when they sniff females' urine...maybe that's also excitement and anticipation :D The female probably snapped at him because that's h...

shags

I wouldn't hesitate to put a little bit of fear into a pup that put his teeth on my skin. I think dogs need to know that disrespect results in a bad consequence, and if that means they have some fear of reprisal, so be it. Dogs shouldn't be fearful of its owners very presence, or of doing regular do...

shags

Joe, It all depends on the dog. I think this is the first time I've taken exception to something Ray had posted, but here goes...he said that a properly conditioned dog can run an hour in 80* heat. Maybe some can, but many cannot. You can do your best to condition a dog to the heat, but if he can't ...

shags

Heavy panting but little to no saliva. Diarrhea. Eyes glassy and or bloodshot. Seems disoriented. Wobbly. Bright red gums. Quits. Keels over. Convulsions. Don't let it get that far ^^^ Better to bring 'em in too soon than too late. Once the internal thermostat goes, it's gone for good and the dog wo...

shags

Locally our Tractor Supply stores have carried both size bags for a long time now. And they have variations too, like they carry only one or the other but will order for you the one they don't have. Petco also carries both sizes. Our TSCs will price match too, if you can show something like a screen...

shags

Sorry for the loss of your dog. IME it's not the breed but the individual dog for traits like stamina. You have a better chance if you can find a breeder that puts emphasis on the traits you want but it's still a dicey luck of the draw if you're thinking of picking a baby puppy. You didn't mention y...

shags

I treat "bleep" birds as a non-event and don't even bother calling the dog off them unless they're going off backwards or too much sideways, or way too close to a road. I think bird dogs chase for fun sometimes and where they don't have game birds "bleep" birds are their fun. Like watching 90 Day Fi...

shags

In the dog game, I figured out that I'd better learn to lose gracefully because I'm gonna lose a lot. What other options are there...just quit cuz my widdle feewings are hurt, beat my dog, poke a knife into the judges' tires, go sit in the corner and eat worms? I guess I could go home and train some...

shags

That looks like something a young setter of mine had - a histiocytoma. It looks and sounds nastier than it is. My vet whacked it off and that was the end of it.

shags

Well ya know pros only have so many dog boxes in their rigs, so they can't take every good dog that comes down the pike

shags

IME the sandbox in the pen is key to keeping good quail, just as Ray says. We use river sand that has different sizes of grit from powdery for dust baths to the size grit the birds eat for digestion. Since we've put in a sandbox, our birds are much hardier. Last year we released 6 one day in Novembe...

shags

Wow! Sharp looking dog! I bet he looks as good going as he does standing his birds, a brag dog for sure.

shags

Over the past 15 years or so I've had 7 setters. Five we acquired as puppies; two were adult rescues and one of those was elderly. None of them were not what I'd call aloof, but more chill and not in-your-face demanding attention. They all enjoyed affection from just about anybody but most had a fav...

shags

Sharon,

I'm sorry to hear that Lady has passed. She, through you, contributed a lot to this forum.

Godspeed, Little Lady.

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